During the week of June 16, we took our second trip to Camp du Nord. (Our first visit was the summer before Oliver was born.) It was a glorious way to kick off our summer. We were way up north, totally unplugged, and getting into a more natural rhythm (going to bed early, rising with the sun, getting dirty, washing in the lake, walking everywhere, etc.). We stayed in a platform cabin (“Deer”) which was perfect for us. Here’s the description from the website:

Deer Platform Cabin 6 — Enjoy one of our “off-the-grid” eco-cabins. These newer cabins are simple, yet very comfortable. A screened porch with picnic table and stainless steel table make outdoor cooking a breeze. The sleeping room includes 2 elevated long twin over queen bunk beds. Nearby water spigot, showers, biffies, and refrigeration are available. Solar lanterns and all dishware and cooking utensils are provided.

We stayed in a backpacking tent last time, and although we love tent camping, we found it challenging to manage for a full week with cooking, washing, bugs, and unpredictable weather. The cabin gave us more sheltered space without adding electricity and plumbing.

Our pictures are in the gallery below, arranged roughly in chronological order. Note that we only took pictures of a few moments during the trip. Unpictured elements that we all remember fondly included, in no particular order:

• age group activities for the kids in the mornings
• cooked meals with the community up at the dining hall
• afternoon ice cream at the trading post
• the polar bear plunge into the lake every morning
• the sauna
• hiking on the nearby trails
• easily achieving 20,000+ steps each day by simply walking around camp (if you wanted to go beyond that, the hiking trails extend pretty much infinitely)
• filling downtime with non-electronic activities (Bananagrams, crossword puzzles, reading, writing, drawing, inkle weaving, etc.)
• a week without news headlines

As always, click on a picture to see a larger version and then scroll through the slideshow.

Our platform cabin

sticky s’more

Rowan enjoying his s’more

Josie and Maggie

fire pit outside our cabin

Griffin learning inkle weaving

art

Cody and Josie in the rowboat

exotic animals along the trail

Josie and Maggie in the talent show

Josie read from a book that they wrote and Maggie danced and did cartwheels

Maggie and Josie watching other talented performers

Josie and Maggie’s book (“How To Be the Best BFF!”)

exploring blueberry island

mermaids

Griffin performing in his group’s final skit

Josie and Maggie with their age group counselors (including Katya, one of Andrew’s former students!)

Troll Bridge

The lake just before our polar bear plunge